Chapter 21 Part 9: Adaptation.

Thanks to that, the game of tag ended immediately.

We won when the odd-numbered teams were ‘it’, and we won when the even-numbered teams were ‘it’.

You could say it was a perfect victory for the even-numbered teams.

And the odd-numbered teams didn’t object to that victory.

Because we hadn’t broken any rules.

But the PE teacher seemed a bit disappointed.

Looking at his expression, I think he wanted to be ‘it’ himself and chase the students.

Honestly, I thought it would have been fun if the teacher had been ‘it’.

But what can you do when this is the result?

In the end, the teacher suppressed his disappointment and asked the even-numbered teams what drinks or ice cream they wanted.

Then, he wrote down everything the even-numbered teams said on his phone, and casually took out a card from his wallet.

“Anyone want to go to the snack bar and buy drinks and ice cream?”

Of course, not many students readily agreed to that.

Everyone seemed to have no energy to move, since they had been running around for at least a few dozen minutes.

No, it wasn’t that there were no students who could move.

There were students who had used relatively less energy.

It was clear that they didn’t come forward because it was a hassle.

So, I was about to raise my hand when Siwoo and Sia returned from drinking water at the water fountain.

The two didn’t seem tired even though they had been running around so much.

Rather, as if they were full of energy, their expressions still looked good.

And the PE teacher didn’t miss that opportunity.

Before long, Siwoo and Sia came back from the snack bar with a lot of drinks and ice cream.

I received an ice cream from Siwoo and ate it.

And I laughed as I saw the odd-numbered teams eating different snacks.

Even though we won, it felt a bit wrong to be the only ones eating.

But now that everyone had received a prize, I felt good.

And for the rest of the time, we rested on the benches.

Meanwhile, the PE teacher started explaining the training we would be doing in the future.

As the name ‘basic training class’ suggested, the class content was mainly physical training.

I guess we needed the minimum physical strength required to be a hero or a hunter.

So, I nodded and listened carefully to what the teacher was saying.

Unless I don’t have to go to the front lines like other students.

I was a snake-person, and you could say I was a physical fighter who fought through manifestations.

Of course, physical training was essential.

So, the moment I made a commitment to work hard in basic training class, the bell rang and class ended.

“Oh. Everyone did a good job, see you later!”

The PE teacher said that and left immediately.

I tried to say something to him, but it was no use.

He disappeared so quickly that I wondered if he was even there.

So, I stared at the place where the PE teacher had been for a moment, then smiled awkwardly and headed to the locker room with the other students.

After changing clothes in the locker room, I returned to the classroom and sat down at my seat.

I had so much to say.

And so much to ask.

So, I waited for Gong Jinhoo to return.

Fortunately, Gong Jinhoo didn’t run away and came and sat next to me right away.

Seeing that he was wearing his school uniform, it seemed like he had just changed his clothes and came right away.

I slowly looked at the clock and gauged the time.

It seemed like there was still time before the next class started.

So, I decided to get straight to the point.

“Jinhoo.”

“…Yeah.”

“What exactly did you use on me during class today?”

“That, first of all, I’m sorry. It’s a spell that doesn’t normally have that effect.”

“What do you mean it doesn’t have that effect?”

I asked as if I didn’t know anything.

Gong Jinhoo looked at my expression for a moment.

I guess he was checking to see if I was angry, but it didn’t matter.

Because I wasn’t angry yet.

It depended on what kind of answer he gave.

Then, as if he had made up his mind, Gong Jinhoo slowly began to explain.

“I used two spells. One is to use the power of the earth to bind the opponent.”

“You mean that chain-like thing?”

“Yeah. And the other one is… a spell to put the opponent to sleep.”

“…A spell to put me to sleep? I was so scared.”

I said that and smiled.

But Gong Jinhoo didn’t look very happy, as if he had sensed something strange in my words.

No. It seemed like he knew because he was the one who used the spell.

That there was something very wrong with me.

“Yeji, you…”

Gong Jinhoo said that with a stiff face.

And he glared at me fiercely, trying to interrogate me.

I laughed it off, brought my index finger to my lips.

And then, I said slowly.

“I don’t know what you’ve noticed, but I think it would be difficult if you said it.”

“…”

“So, can you keep it a secret between us?”

“…Okay. But if there’s any problem, I’ll tell you right away.”

“Yeah. But… how did you even know?”

I deliberately spoke ambiguously and watched Gong Jinhoo’s reaction.

Gong Jinhoo looked at me for a moment, as if trying to read something from my expression.

Yeah, well. I could understand something like that.

It must feel like the common sense he had known until now was being turned upside down, so of course he would be flustered.

But it seemed like the other students were starting to look at us strangely.

So, I needed to cut off the conversation at the right time.

Fortunately, Gong Jinhoo gave me the reason before it was too late.

“The dream my spell makes you have is just a normal, everyday dream.”

“…I see.”

“…You’re okay, right?”

“Shh. Class is starting soon.”

I said that and looked forward.

Gong Jinhoo seemed to want to say something to me, but it was no use.

It wasn’t a lie that class was starting soon.

So, I prepared my textbook and ignored Gong Jinhoo’s words.

And I kept avoiding Gong Jinhoo even after class ended.

It wasn’t that difficult.

I just had to run away a little during break time.

Besides, there weren’t many classes left, so it wasn’t difficult to avoid Gong Jinhoo’s questioning.

So, when I kept running away until the last break time, Gong Jinhoo seemed to have given up on questioning me.

He did say to tell him later, when the situation allowed…

But that’s something I can think about when the time comes.

So, I answered without hesitation.

Because I felt like that would never happen.

It was clear that I could just say that the situation wasn’t right and not have to talk about it.

Gong Jinhoo seemed to have realized that belatedly, but it was already too late.

It was homeroom time when he spoke to me again.

I calmly made the excuse that homeroom was about to start.

Of course, Gong Jinhoo wasn’t the kind of student who would recklessly talk to me during homeroom.

So, Gong Jinhoo couldn’t say anything to me until homeroom ended.

Then, I heard Gong Jinhoo saying something from behind, but snakes are hard of hearing.

I pretended not to hear and left.

I wondered what I would do if he tried to catch me while I was going home…

But fortunately, Gong Jinhoo didn’t catch me.

Still, just in case, I went home nervously.

I could only relax after getting on the intercity bus.

There was only one reason why Gong Jinhoo was trying to interrogate me like this.

As he said, the second spell he used was just to make you have a normal, everyday dream.

It wasn’t to make you see hallucinations.

It wasn’t to make you have terrible nightmares.

He just wanted to put me to sleep and end the game of tag.

But if a high school girl who should have been having a normal, everyday dream turned into something so scary…

I would have questioned it too.

What kind of life did you live to react like that?

At that time, my appearance would be described by Jang Yuna as Zhang Fei at Changban Bridge.

To put it negatively, I could be said to be Cao Cao who had just killed Lady Baisha.

If I had to compare it to the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

“…Sigh.”

I sighed deeply and thought about what to do next.

Gong Jinhoo is a pretty nice and smart student, so he’ll try to find out why my daily life was so terrible.

It’s not like there’s no darkness in the hunter or hero industry.

I think what he’s thinking of is a slightly lighter darkness.

If you can’t become a hunter or a hero, you’re useless.

Or, you have a poor ability, but you’re a woman, so at least your life has value.

Well, roughly. There were such scumbags.

Gong Jinhoo seemed to think that I grew up under such a scumbag.

And it was clear that he thought I was still under the influence of those scumbags.

Otherwise, there was no way to explain why he was trying to talk to me even though I ignored him and refused.

He could be said to be a really righteous student.

If I had that kind of past… I probably would have talked.

But my childhood was something darker than that.

There are places where people are bred like livestock to obtain stronger abilities.

There are also places where they kidnap strong hunters or heroes and create experimental subjects with the sperm and eggs they collect.

Human rights violations are basic, and they also carry out painful experiments that make you want to die.

It was common for a child you became attached to to become a corpse in a bag the next day.

That I spent my childhood in such a place, and I’m still connected to it.

There’s no way I can tell that to that young friend.

So, I smiled bitterly, took out my phone, and sent a text message to Aunt Ailey.

The content was nothing special. It was just a text that said, [Unnie, can we talk for a bit?].